


Sanctuary

by eveshka



Series: Tales of the Dawn King [14]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-23 17:43:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10724130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eveshka/pseuds/eveshka
Summary: I need more affection than you know.





	Sanctuary

**Author's Note:**

> Rating: M  
> Warnings: Language  
> Characters: Noctis Lucis Caelum, Ignis Scientia  
> Time Period: After Brotherhood Episode 5 / arrival at Cape Caem the first time  
> Location: Cape Caem

He’d listened to Prompto talk about meeting Lunafreya, listened to Gladio and Ignis try to calm the excitable companion, and made his obvious joke about napping. He hadn’t felt like napping, and he’d spent the remainder of the trip to Caem settled with his eyes closed, pretending. Near as he could tell, Gladio and Prompto bought into it. He knew Ignis hadn’t, even though the man had been driving.

They’d made it to Caem safely, and after they had unloaded, been greeted and hugged. The Six had been praised for keeping the four of them safe, and bubbly Talcott had shown them to a room that had been set up just for the four of them. Iris had shown them all her garden, talked Noctis into planting a few vegetables (not that he had _any_ plans to eat whatever grew out of it) and then they’d settled in for dinner.

The meal had been good, though Noctis hadn’t truly paid the food much attention, and then Prompto had challenged him to a game of darts. The trouble was that Prompto was a marksman and Noctis was simply too distracted to pay it proper attention and logged a solid loss to the delight of the blond. Noctis wasn’t exactly charitable when Prompto celebrated his victory, but he tried to suppress the snark. It hadn’t worked very well, and after a quick and tight glance to Ignis, Noctis retreated to a bed, pulled the covers over his head and pretended to sleep.

 

Hours later, after the others had called it a night, Noctis quietly slipped out of the bed, padded down the stairs and slipped out the front door, boots in hand. He paused on the deck to work his boots on, and then climbed the stairs up the hill and ascended the walk around the base of the lighthouse, looking out over the water.

“Can’t sleep?” In retrospect, he should have been surprised that it took thirty minutes for him to have company. It did not surprise him as to who had ultimately followed him out there. White-clad arms leaned in reverse against the railing, Ignis arched backward over the vast expanse in order to look to Noctis.

Blue eyes grew momentarily wide, and then Noctis frowned at Ignis. “Kinda came out here to be alone, Ignis.” He moved away from the taller man, turning his gaze back over the water.

“I would be remiss in allowing you to wander outside at night without someone to watch your back.”

“Like anything’s going to come up here.” A rush of heated emotions overtook Noctis, irritation coloring his desire to just be alone, and impulsively he spun, a blade appearing in his hand, only to be thrown upwards, and without a second thought he _warped_ , hanging from the blade’s hilt for several exhilarating seconds before he flipped himself up into the air, sent a different blade flying once more and alighting atop the lighthouse, perched above the roof over the light.

He heard the soft curse below, and suppressed a ruthless smile. The elevator wasn’t working; he’d tried it earlier. The only way up to the walkway below him was by a ladder eight or so feet above the ground that led to the spiraling stairs.

Except, as the sound of hard leather hitting metal reminded him, Ignis was a gymnast and an eight-foot jump was a mere matter of effort. Noct spat a voiceless curse and resigned himself to remaining just out of reach of his advisor, who undoubtedly would be giving him an earful for the double warp and the freeform flip he’d used without care to the ground below. Way below. At the bottom of the cliff below. Okay, maybe that hadn’t been his smartest move, but he was up here now and had no intentions of coming down for a while. He wanted to be alone, to let the emotions roiling in his chest burn themselves out into the night without witness. Hell, he wanted to destroy something with his own two hands, tear it apart and render it to shreds. But he wasn’t Gladio; he didn’t have that strength.

“Noctis, I appreciate the desire to be alone, but circumstances dictate-”

Anger boiled over everything else, bringing him to the edge of the roof where he stood and glared at Ignis. “ _Fuck_ circumstance, Ignis. Circumstance is what put me here. _Circumstance_ ,” he spat the word, “destroyed Insomnia and killed my father.”

The sudden silence below him proved his vulgarity had hit home. When the red had faded from his eyes, Noctis could see Ignis’ green gaze hard and brilliant behind his glasses in the moonlight. The taller man’s arms were folded, his white shirt open against the night, clearly having been thrown hastily on over sleep pants. The eye contact was all his advisor needed to start. “Highness, please. Come down. It is not safe for you to be up there.”

Anger raged again, and Noctis warped without truly intending to, alighting mere inches from Ignis, snarling in the other man’s face. " _Will you stop being my Advisor for five minutes and just be my friend?!_ " His heart raced to his throat, making him step backwards like a drunken man, and Noctis turned, stumbling to the railing and catching himself against it, hands fisting atop the metal handrail. His mind spun, he’d lost control and warped at _Ignis_. All he wanted was to be alone.

 

"Noct-" A memory washed over Ignis, small arms that couldn't reach around him, smaller hands patting his shoulders, offering comfort to the older boy who simply rocked in place as the young mind tried to grapple with the pain of lost family. Back then, Noctis had understood, but couldn't give it voice. Now? Ignis' world shifted slightly as he settled into his own understanding. Noctis still understood. He was simply trying to give it his voice.

Silent now, Ignis looked away for a moment, and then forced himself to look back to Noctis, to his friend. He forced himself to see the other's pain, to watch those shoulders shake silently, to see fists clenched enough to allow fingernails to break skin. Noctis was right, he didn't need his advisor here in this moment, and Ignis hadn't been a good enough friend to see it.

One step. Two. Three. Ignis moved carefully, closing the distance between himself and Noctis, and only when he was directly behind his friend did he bring his arms around the shaking young man. He rooted himself there, holding Noctis tightly against him, resting his forehead against the unruly black mop and closing his eyes, listening to his heartbeat. _Always. Always. Always._

They stood there like that for a long time, one friend comforting the other, and when Noctis finally crumpled against him, Ignis had his back and didn’t let him fall.

**Author's Note:**

> I promise, that was not the song I was listening to when I wrote this... the 'Sanctuary' I was listening to was from Assassin's Creed and written by Jesper Kyd. Utada's just fit so well after the fact.
> 
> And with this fic, folks, I have crossed the 100,000 word in a single fandom barrier.   
> I may not be able to respond to all of your comments anymore, but I read each one and you guys really are the best.  
> Thank you, thank you, thank you.


End file.
